The clock is ticking ever faster for Leonard Peltier
By Tuesday, August 18, the four sitting members of the Federal Parole Commission must decide whether they will let Leonard Peltier rejoin his family.
Leonard has been in prison for a staggering 33 years, six more than Nelson Mandela. When he was locked up, Three Mile Island was three years away, and Ronald Reagan had barely begun to run for President.
Leonard has great-grandchildren he has never held.
His most recent hearing was June 28. According to his lawyer, Eric Seitz, it went very well. The Parole Commission had 21 days from then to issue its decision.
Now we are down to the final week.
All those familiar with the case agree that a positive political climate can make a difference in the decision. Calls to politicians (202-224-3121) could make all the difference, as could overnight letters to the Parole Commission (http://www.usdoj.gov/uspc/).
Below are two draft letters the attorney has termed "a little melodramatic but otherwise ok." Your own versions are more than welcome.
Leonard has been in prison for a staggering 33 years, six more than Nelson Mandela. When he was locked up, Three Mile Island was three years away, and Ronald Reagan had barely begun to run for President.
Leonard has great-grandchildren he has never held.
His most recent hearing was June 28. According to his lawyer, Eric Seitz, it went very well. The Parole Commission had 21 days from then to issue its decision.
Now we are down to the final week.
All those familiar with the case agree that a positive political climate can make a difference in the decision. Calls to politicians (202-224-3121) could make all the difference, as could overnight letters to the Parole Commission (http://www.usdoj.gov/uspc/).
Below are two draft letters the attorney has termed "a little melodramatic but otherwise ok." Your own versions are more than welcome.
Give me a ticket for an aeroplane – Ken Blackwell just wrote me a letter
Give me a ticket for an aeroplane, ain’t got time to take a fast train – since the Republicans destroyed mass transit in the U.S. and there aren’t any fast trains – Ken Blackwell just wrote me a letter. That’s same Blackwell we all now known as the Katherine Harris of Ohio for his role in helping steal the 2004 election. Blackwell, billing himself as “Former Ohio Secretary of State” and “Conservative Republican,” wrote a letter regarding: “The One Way to Stop the Obama Machine.”
My first thought to stop the Obama “Machine” was – take cell phones away from 18-24-year-olds. After all, the Obama political machine was actually a decentralized cyber-force of youngsters. All of this brilliantly captured in Danny Schechter’s recent documentary: Barack Obama: People’s President.
My first thought to stop the Obama “Machine” was – take cell phones away from 18-24-year-olds. After all, the Obama political machine was actually a decentralized cyber-force of youngsters. All of this brilliantly captured in Danny Schechter’s recent documentary: Barack Obama: People’s President.
Grand theft auto: how Stevie the Rat bankrupted GM
Screw the autoworkers.
They may be crying about General Motors' bankruptcy today. But dumping 40,000 of the last 60,000 union jobs into a mass grave won't spoil Jamie Dimon's day.
Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan Chase bank. While GM workers are losing their retirement health benefits, their jobs, their life savings; while shareholders are getting zilch and many creditors getting hosed, a few privileged GM lenders - led by Morgan and Citibank - expect to get back 100% of their loans to GM, a stunning $6 billion.
The way these banks are getting their $6 billion bonanza is stone cold illegal.
I smell a rat.
Stevie the Rat, to be precise. Steven Rattner, Barack Obama's 'Car Czar' - the man who essentially ordered GM into bankruptcy this morning.
When a company goes bankrupt, everyone takes a hit: fair or not, workers lose some contract wages, stockholders get wiped out and creditors get fragments of what's left. That's the law. What workers don't lose are their pensions (including old-age health funds) already taken from their wages and held in their name.
They may be crying about General Motors' bankruptcy today. But dumping 40,000 of the last 60,000 union jobs into a mass grave won't spoil Jamie Dimon's day.
Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan Chase bank. While GM workers are losing their retirement health benefits, their jobs, their life savings; while shareholders are getting zilch and many creditors getting hosed, a few privileged GM lenders - led by Morgan and Citibank - expect to get back 100% of their loans to GM, a stunning $6 billion.
The way these banks are getting their $6 billion bonanza is stone cold illegal.
I smell a rat.
Stevie the Rat, to be precise. Steven Rattner, Barack Obama's 'Car Czar' - the man who essentially ordered GM into bankruptcy this morning.
When a company goes bankrupt, everyone takes a hit: fair or not, workers lose some contract wages, stockholders get wiped out and creditors get fragments of what's left. That's the law. What workers don't lose are their pensions (including old-age health funds) already taken from their wages and held in their name.
Six months of immunity
Seven years to the day after the Downing Street Minutes meeting at which
top British officials famously discussed U.S. President George W. Bush's
intent to launch a war against Iraq whether or not any means could be
found to legalize it, on July 23rd, the United Nations hosted a
discussion
of ways in which wars of aggression are given pseudo-legal cover.
Included were remarks by Jean Bricmont
and Noam Chomsky
. It
is not hard to imagine how different such discussions would be were the architects of the Iraq War ever held accountable for it in any way.
Movie review: Food, Inc.
FOOD INC., now showing at the Drexel, is a genuine must-see tour de force. Featuring primarily food author/activists Michael Pollan and
Eric Schlosser, this lengthy but very watchable documentary gem lays out the horrific crisis America faces in feeding itself---or rather, in being
force-fed by corporate evil-doers. The agri-rape and pillage of Monsanto and its unholy host of boardroom buccaneers has made a mess of
our food production and distribution system. If you can face the ravages of the mass meat industry without becoming a vegetarian, you are
ready for a job as Dick Cheney's private chef. Despite its pithy topic, the film never lapses into jargon. Nor does lose its pace or punch.
Grounded with excellent appearances by regular down-home farmers and true mainstream folk, this is a march to where we all
live and eat. Lets hope it has an impact. Thanks to Jeff & Cathy Frank for bringing---and keeping---it here. Bring the kids. They'll never drag
you to McDonald's again!!
The passing of Aquino, the rigging of elections and the need for People Power
The death of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino on August 1, 2009 should be remembered for many reasons: not just because she led the People Power revolution in the Philippines that stood for peace and human rights, and not just because she did it after the brutal Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos had her husband assassinated, but most importantly, she stood up to one of the first documented stolen elections.
While the American mainstream media steadfastly refuses to recognize the use of both computer hardware and software in modern election manipulation, President Ronald Reagan’s good buddy Marcos immediately knew the score with the new technology and blatantly used mainframe computers to rig his 1986 election. With the support of the Reagan administration, Marcos simply had the vote count shut down until “new tapes” were brought in that reversed Aquino’s victory.
While the American mainstream media steadfastly refuses to recognize the use of both computer hardware and software in modern election manipulation, President Ronald Reagan’s good buddy Marcos immediately knew the score with the new technology and blatantly used mainframe computers to rig his 1986 election. With the support of the Reagan administration, Marcos simply had the vote count shut down until “new tapes” were brought in that reversed Aquino’s victory.